Broadcast Mast – S1 Antenna Re-engineering

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ANTENNA WEIGHT

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HEIGHT OF THE MAST

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WEEKS TO COMPLETE THE S1

The Project

Our specialist broadcast team were instructed to design, supply and install the new antennas and supporting steelwork that would replace the existing S1 and S2 antennas on the mast. This project is apart of the P700 Programme, designed to help free up bandwidth in order to make way for future technologies, such as 5G.

The Solution

Initial works involved the strengthening of the mast to allow it to take the additional S1 loading. With our experienced team this went without any disruption or safety incidents. This was then followed by a phased re-engineering of upper and lower sections of the S2, utilising a man-riding basket.

The site is extremely remote with very difficult access, which steered the design proposal to a helicopter lift for the replacement of the S1 antenna.

On the day of the helicopter lift a clear sky and a predictable wind meant the conditions were perfect. With the daylight hours reducing the Virtua team kept calm and got on with the job in the measured and systematic approach which had been planned for many months.

At each step safety was of prime importance and the risks involved reviewed by the Virtua Site Manager at ground level and Rigging Manager at the top of the mast, always in close communication with Heli-Swiss, the helicopter contractor.

The lift went like clockwork with the final helicopter operation finished just before light began to fail. It was a long day for all those involved but all left site safely having completed another successful landmark in this broadcast infrastructure upgrade project.